Rajoelina’s balance sheet : a terrifying sheet drawn by the World Bank

a second to none social crisis

Four years of Andry Rajoelina’s undisputed rule brought poverty to some 4 other millions people. The poverty rate reaches the sky high figure of 92%. Nine Madagascans out of ten are surviving with less than two uS$ a day. This rate used to stagnate around 70% before a sensible improvement from 2005 to 2008.

His reign directly affected the social sector. 600 000 Children aged under 15 had to leave the school. Scores of the Rajoelina generation’s kids, born from 2008, suffer from acute underweight.Important malnutrition rates have risen by 50% in some regions. Every achieved health improvement for mothers and children have been reduced to nothing.

The GDP growth did not match the rather strong demographic growth between 2008 and 2013, with 3 millions of new inhabitants. The transitional ruling power’s unability to take care of the existing infrastructure due to cash shortage, for example roads, electricity and drinking water supply facilities ruins out a miserable enough growth as it is.

A week economy out of control

The World Bank’s spokeswoman blamed this situation on the transitional ruling power’s incompetence and regretted “the bankruptcies happening on an daily basis”. Madagascar has become one of the world’s slowest countries. The transitional crisis has weekened the rule of law and created safe heavens for growing insecurity.

Poor governance, namely concerning the management of natural ressources, the complete lack of transparency in the management of public wealth, the lack of national as well as international investments, the lack of massive job creation, worsening governance standards… are all symptoms of the recession noticed by the World Bank.

The Malagasy economy has been suffering from the suspension of 30% of the foreign financial support, the other 70% being directly transfered to humanitarian projects, for a while, but for how long, no one knows.

Madagascar exposed to scores of risks

Yet, the World Bank seems to concede some praises to a certain extent to the austerity policy held by Rajoelina as an oustanding success, but keeps on emphasizing the need to maintain economic stability. Tax revenues shrank while tax offenses have been rising, although the tax collection department and the finance ministry always used to be satisfied by the large scale mining projects’ contribution.

Whatever, the expenditures, poorly managed due to political pressures and enforced interventions, have massively been weakening the State’s accounts. According to the World Bank, the next government may expect a substantial bill as a consequence of this way to manage tax revenues.

This political crisis has litterally amputated Madagascar from its capability to match the world economy’s major waves.Any natural disaster of relevant scale is likely to deliver the final blow to the agonizing economy. The locust invasion tops the chart, considering that it would possibly strip the country from 70% of its rice and create uan unprecedented food crisis.

Despite running from inauguration to inauguration as presidential candidate yet refusing to step down from his position of transitional leader, Andry Rajoelina actually has no achievement sheet to praise at all. Apart from a handful of hospitals and some hundreds of social facilities on one of the world’s largest islands in size, the self proclaimed savior and builder left loads of destruction as a legacy to the people